Peppermint
by Starsmiley
Summary: In which Tressa attracts unwanted attention, and Cyrus is very pissed off by this.


They had decided to go to Sunshade. Cyrus was curious about the culture and customs in the area, and Tressa was just happy to go where the Tradewinds took her. Also, while she wouldn't admit this, she was fascinated by the dancing the other women did in Sunshade, and honestly, their outfits looked quite comfortable in the sweltering desert heat-she wouldn't mind trying it on herself.

When the duo arrived, Cyrus immediately headed to see if there was a local library in the town, and Tressa bolted straight for the tavern, for that's where she heard the dancers put on their performances.

She casually walked into the Tavern, deciding to stand up against the wall near the bar. She decided to assess the other tavern go-ers, in hopes one of them may be a merchant she could make a deal with. There was a wealthy looking man at one of the tables, feet crossed on top of the table and smirking, while telling stories to his entertained listeners and a glass of wine in hand. He looked like the typical pompous rich man who would deflate the second he was actually met with resistance. Just as she was debating whether to go up to him or not, the tavern lights dimmed, and glaring lights were pointed to the stage. Tressa straightened, a wide smile on her face as the dancer came onto the stage.

The dancer was beautiful. She had long, luscious curls that was tied up and bounced as she moved across the stage. She seemed pale, which was a shock for how far down south she was, especially smack in the middle of the desert. Nonetheless, the red dancer garment that donned her seemed to compliment her skin tone. What was most beautiful was her eyes-her eyes burned with a fiery passion that seemed to have men mesmerized the moment her eyes met theirs.

The dancer stood at the center of the stage and seemed to take a moment to collect her bearings before she began.

It was difficult to describe her dancing. Her movements were graceful and composed, yet powerful and wild at the same time. She moved with the elegance of a sneaky fox, yet that of a dangerous tiger. It was like one moment she was flowing river, and the next she was a stormy ocean. It was captivating, enchanting. It was no wonder all the men in the tavern where totally infatuated with the woman, one man even declaring his undying love for her. Suddenly the performance was over, and she bowed deeply. Tressa clapped eagerly, fascinated by the dancer's performance.

"Who was that?" Tressa whispered over to one of the men at the bar. "She's amazing!"

The man sighed, looking longingly at the dancer, who had exited the tavern. "Primrose. She's the most beautiful dancer I've ever seen-and trust me, I've met quite a few. Can't wait to have a round with her…" He licked his lips. Tressa cringed slightly. She wasn't all that into the more erotic ventures that involved with being a dancer-actually, she wasn't into that kind of stuff period. There was nothing she could do about it, however, so she simply gave a quick 'thank you' and left the tavern.

She groaned as the hot air hit her. The tavern wasn't that much cooler, but the air seemed to have gotten hotter and heavier since they had first arrived. She saw a dancer walking with a man and noticed how the woman seemed unphased by the heat. She could really go for those dancer clothes, especially as she didn't see Cyrus around, so it was to be assumed they'd be here a while as Cyrus perused over tons of books and tomes.

Walking to the shop, she checked the wares to see if they were selling any of the clothes. She groaned even louder when she realized they weren't selling them. She walked around the arid town, poking and prodding people to see if any of them had a dancer dress they'd be willing to part with for a little while. Just as she was about to give up, the winds of fortune smiled upon her, for a beautiful dancer overlooking the city was more than willing to part with a very famous dress from a very famous dancer-for the right price, of course. She nearly staggered at the price but was able to cut the cost down to a thousand leaves. She took the dress, beaming at her successful purchase. This will surely be helpful, and if nothing else, she can sell it later for a bit more.

She found a closed off area to change, taking off her hat and dress and replacing it with the comfortable blue dancer apparel. She stuffed her former clothes in her backpack and continued her stroll.

This was _much_ more comfortable. While normally she was hesitant to bare her body off to others, she couldn't find it in herself to care as the heat seemed to bounce off her, a cool breeze rustling her dress. The material had to have magic infused in them or something, she thought, amazed at the effectiveness of the dress.

Tressa walked around the town, not noticing the heads turn in her direction and the gaped looks that followed her. She didn't particularly care for much at the moment other than relaxing. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining everywhere, and it seemed that they'd be staying the night-no worries about monsters or any other sort of evil that could be lurking in the dead of night.

Eventually, after walking for quite a while and admiring the scenery, her throat got parched. It was to be expected-the dress can protect her skin from the sun only so much, after all. She headed towards the tavern, giving the bouncer at the front a handful of leaves to watch her bag for her. The man nodded, placing the backpack over his shoulder, stuffing the leaves in his pocket. She kept an eye on him from afar for a few minutes to make sure he won't bolt off with her items, before walking into the tavern and heading to the bar. The barkeep seemed to immediately know what she wanted, grabbing a glass and filling it with what looked like some fruit juice. Tressa smiled gratefully, giving the barkeep a few leaves.

She grabbed the glass, taking a sip of the refreshing drink, savoring as the sweet taste went down her throat, relaxing the hot and scratchy feeling. She walked across the tavern, and suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, forcefully moving her closer to the instigator, nearly making her spill her drink.

It was the pompous looking rich man she had noted before. He gave her a predatory smile, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear. "And what's your name, sweetheart?" He slurred, forcing her on his lap.

Tressa gagged, the man's putrid breath of alcohol and durians making her want to throw up. "S-Sorry, I'm not a dancer…" She muttered, trying to get off the man's lap.

The man's jovial expression soured, twisting into a look of indignation; he raised his hand, landing a blow on Tressa's face. She cried out, losing her balance and falling on the floor in a heap.

"Don't talk back to me, girl," he snarled, gripping his wine glass so tensely Tressa thought it might crack.

Despite the warning, and what may happen if she continued, she decided to continue to talk back. She was not letting this asshole walk all over her!

"I guess that must be why your wife left you, with how you treat women…" Tressa hissed. "Or, wait, you're probably too smelly and rude for any women with half a brain to consider the thought of marrying a brainless pig like you!"

While her self-preservation instincts were screaming at her for being such an idiot, she couldn't help but be immensely satisfied by the lovely shade of red that bloomed on the man's face-from embarrassment or anger, Tressa wasn't sure which-before that satisfaction died as the man got up and raised his wine glass, as if prepared to throw it at her face. Tressa put her arms over her head to protect herself.

Suddenly, a gust of icy wind flowed throughout the whole tavern. A voice, equally as icy, said, "That's enough."

Tressa twisted her body from the ground to see who the person was. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was Cyrus, thank the Flame. Her relief came to a halt when she saw the look on his face.

He was angry. No, furious would probably be a better term to describe the aura that came off him, sparks of electricity dancing across his body, ice forming in the area his feet landed as he came up to Tressa and the now confused man.

Cyrus lent a hand down to Tressa, who gratefully took it and pulled herself up. She dusted herself off, making sure there was no broken glass on her from the fallen cup from earlier.

He cupped her cheek, running a gentle thumb over the forming bruise. "Besides this…" He threw a disgusted look towards the man. "Did he touch you anywhere else?"

She shook her head. "No, didn't really do anything besides look like an idiot…can we leave now? Please?" She was desperate to get out of these clothes, and maybe take a bath for a few hours. Her skin itched, her own body detesting the idea of being anywhere near the man that had assaulted her.

His gaze softened slightly. "Of course, my dear. Just one thing, and we'll go back to the inn and get some peppermints, alright?"

A grin made its way to Tressa's face. It didn't take long for Cyrus to find out her addiction to peppermint. She loved sweets in general, but peppermints have always been a favorite of hers, and there weren't many in her hometown.

Cyrus gave her another gentle smile, before returning to his mask of cold fury from before, directing it to the man who was standing there, not sure whether to be confused or enraged. After a moment, he managed to sputter out, "Is this your dancer?"

A look of incredulity broke Cyrus's cold mask for a second, before outrage broke out. "No, you daft man! She's far too young to be a dancer-why, she just turned eighteen a couple moons ago!"

A few gasps rang out from the onlookers of the drama unfolding before them. It wasn't unheard of for dancers as young as 18 to be taken in, but it was against the law to do so-the law being you had to be 21 to legally act as a dancer and as a servant to those who put you to service. If the girls were desperate enough for work, they'd be taken in, forced to lie about their age and even identity-if anyone ever caught wind about their legal age, the entire establishment could be put under investigation and eventually, shut down. Even then, assaulting a dancer was never allowed-the dancer always had to consent. They usually did, for they needed the money, but it had to be totally consensual, for assault of such a nature would ruin the image of the establishment.

Assault of anyone was a sentence to death in most lands, only places like Riverford turning a blind eye to such atrocities being occurred. The man seemed to realize this, as he immediately paled upon the sentence being uttered. "I…I didn't realize-"

"No, clearly you did not." Cyrus cut him off with a snarl. The electricity was flying off him now, shocking one of the bystanders. Tressa could feel the hair on her arms stick up.

He took a calming breath. "Okay, here's what's going to happen," he pointed at the man, who was starting to shake. "You are to never enter this tavern ever again. Actually, no, you're to never enter this town ever again. And if you _ever_ go near Tressa again, I swear to the Flame I will not hesitate to freeze your very insides out and leave them for the leviathan. Understood?"

The man didn't say anything. He just nodded frantically and hurried out of the tavern. The bystanders gave a few impressed looks towards Cyrus, but simply went back to their table and business resumed, like nothing every happened. The man had always been kind of a bully-acting rough with the dancers, cheating games of cards with the other regulars, and had even attempted to threaten the barkeep on a few occasions for free drinks and food. The barkeep was unperturbed by this, as it was common for him to be threatened by rowdy drunks, but it helped cement the man's reputation as a foul lard. They were quite happy someone had finally put him in his place.

Tressa was grateful and amazed, the electricity dying down and the icy demeanor retreating from the professor. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, professor." Tressa giggled.

Cyrus gave a chuckle, throwing an arm over Tressa's shoulder and giving her a side hug. "Let's just never have you wear that outfit outside of battle, yes?"

She shuddered. She wasn't sure she ever even wanted to wear this dress ever again. It felt tainted now…

"Ah, but enough of that…I promised peppermints, yes? Shall we be off?" He said, waving Tressa forward. She grinned and ran ahead, unable to wait for the fresh minty taste to melt on her tongue, making sure to grab her backpack from the bouncer on the way out.

Despite all the bad things that happened here, she can't find it in herself to regret it as she ate the peppermints Cyrus had gotten her. They had also come across the red cladded dancer from before, Primrose, and had asked the duo for help on her vengeful mission. They had all decided to relax a little while and get ready before continuing the journey. Tressa looked at the kind, laughing face of Primrose and the gentle, relaxed face of Cyrus, heart swelling as she looked at her two new friends. The journey had just begun, and Tressa couldn't wait to see what was next.


End file.
